Kisses and Catfishes
by PortiaInAStorm
Summary: Marley is worried that she might be falling for Ryder... so why is she helping Marissa win his heart? Not to mention, how does Ryder's mysterious online love interest Katie fit in?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own _Glee_ and am writing this purely for fun and not profit.

* * *

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I don't want anything from anyone. Especially either of you."

Marley watched helplessly as Ryder stormed away, his words like a slap in the face. When he'd first come up to her and Jake, accusing them of tricking him with a fake online identity, her first reaction had been to get defensive. They were Ryder's friends! How could he even _think _that they would do something like that?

But as he'd ranted on, spewing out hurtful theories about how she and Jake were catfishing him as some sort of twisted revenge, it had become harder and harder to ignore that he was in _pain_. Even if his red-rimmed eyes and tearstained face hadn't given it away, the way he had attacked _them,_ his closest friends, would have. Marley leaned against the nearest locker, frowning. "Do you think one of us should go after him?"

Jake shrugged helplessly. "And say what? Clearly he doesn't want to talk to us right now." He put his arm around her shoulders. "Let him cool down. We'll see him in glee later anyway."

"You're right." she sighed, and put Ryder from her mind... or at least tried to.

_She _had been the first person Ryder had accused of being Katie. Not Jake, not Unique, not Kitty or her bitchy cheerleader friends or the dumb jocks on the football team. _Her._ Had Ryder really thought that it had been her? Or had he _hoped_ it?

The kicker was that if she didn't have Jake, she would have fallen for Ryder in an instant. But she'd met Jake first, and she'd dated Jake first, and she wasn't going to cheat on him, not even online. It was heartbreaking to think of Ryder thinking, hoping, dreading that Katie was her, that the girl he'd trusted online was someone he could trust in real life.

God, she hoped he was okay.

* * *

Sitting on the floor in the dark, huddled against the wall in Mr. Schue's classroom, every minute seemed to stretch on for hours. After the gunshots had gone off, everyone seemed to be operating on adrenaline, panic, and pure fear. Marley's phone was conspicuously silent in her hand—not so much as a single text from her mother. Jake squeezed her hand to reassure her, but the comfort barely seemed to penetrate the shell of shock and fear that surrounded her. Even Kitty's confession of having altered her costumes to make her think she was fat didn't seem like a big deal at the moment.

There were a few gasps and some shushing as Ryder scrambled across the room, keeping low to the ground, and crawled in beside Marley. What was he doing?

There were tears shining on his face as he pressed his back to the wall and took a deep breath before facing her and Jake. "Marley," he whispered, barely audible even in the near-silent room. "Jake. I'm sorry. The way I acted earlier. I should never have accused—"

Marley gave a little whimper, cutting him off as she threw her arms around his neck. "It doesn't matter." she murmured, a few tears sliding out of her own eyes and onto his shirt.

Jake reached around his girlfriend and clapped Ryder on the shoulder. "She's right. Don't worry about it."

Ryder's arms came up around Marley slowly, hesitantly. "Still friends, then?"

"Of course!" Marley mumbled into his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, with us." she confessed. "I'm glad you're not out _there_." She'd been worried all day that Ryder would skip glee club after his outburst over the catfishing incident, and now she was thanking god that he wasn't out in the school somewhere, miserable and alone, with some unknown shooter on the loose. No matter how stupidly dangerous it might have been for Ryder to risk moving over to them, she couldn't deny that she felt better with him beside her, and with no fights or bad feelings in the air between them.

Finally, she pulled back, keeping her arm pressed against Ryder's even as she reclaimed Jake's hand.

Ryder was silent for a few more minutes before murmuring, "I want to call her. I want to call Katie, make sure she's okay."

"I thought you said she was fake." Jake protested.

Not to be deterred, Ryder pressed the 'call' button on his phone. "That doesn't matter right now; she's still someone I care about." He pressed the phone to his ear.

Marley's eyes widened at the sound of the answering ring somewhere in the choir room.

* * *

A few days later, when school let out, Marley decided to take advantage of the lack of glee rehearsal and use the empty auditorium while she waited for her mom to finish up in the cafeteria.

She only played the piano a little, but she played a few scales as she warmed up her voice, still deciding what she wanted to sing. Lost in thought, she jumped a little at the sound of a voice behind her.

"You're Marley Rose, right?"

Marley turned to find a thin, pretty, blonde girl standing at the foot of the stage. The girl looked familiar—she must have seen her around school—but they'd never spoken before. "Um, yes, that's me. Hi."

"I'm Marissa." the blonde said. She ducked her head a little before continuing, looking a little embarrassed. "I was actually looking for, uh, someone else, but I'm glad you're here."

"Okay..." Marley was intrigued. Even at a school with as much drama as McKinley it wasn't that common to be randomly approached for a chat by a stranger. "What can I help you with?"

Marissa's white teeth flashed in a nervous smile. "Am I that obvious?" She placed her palms on the stage and boosted herself up to perch on its edge, and Marley joined her in sitting side by side, their feet dangling off the stage. "So... you know Ryder Lynn, right?"

Marley blinked at her in surprise. "Yeah, of course. He's one of my best friends."

Marissa continued, "So, this is totally awkward, but the other day, there was this weird misunderstanding-"

The pieces came together for Marley all at once. "Oh! You're not-Katie!" she blurted, suddenly realizing that this must be the girl Ryder had accidentally humiliated himself by serenading. She straightened up, a little defensive now. She wasn't making fun of Ryder, was she?

The other girl grinned. "Yeah, that was kind of his reaction too. Only, more upset."

"He was upset." Marley said seriously. "That was a horrible trick for somebody to play on him."

"So he never found out who his dream girl really is?" Marissa asked. At Marley's negative head shake, she said, "That sucks, but... I'm kind of glad." Leaning in with a secretive grin, she lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Girl to girl? I've been crushing on him in a major way since he sang me that song."

"Oh..." Marley didn't know what to say to that.

"I mean, have you ever heard him sing?" Marissa rolled her eyes as she answered her own question. "Of course you have, you're in the same glee club. But he sounded really fantastic. And he just seemed so sweet and earnest and vulnerable—You know him; is that what he's really like?"

Marley couldn't help but smile at the completely accurate description of Ryder. "He really is."

"Not to mention, hot, right?" Marissa went on. "I mean, his arms alone: totally swoonworthy."

She couldn't exactly disagree. "I guess..."

"And after I got over, you know, being completely freaked out by the way this random guy just kind of yanked me into a classroom and sang to me? I thought, that was really romantic and brave. I mean, what girl wouldn't want a guy who makes amazing gestures like that?" Marissa rhapsodized.

On one hand, it made Marley happy to hear such nice things said about Ryder... on the other, she felt irrationally and inexcusably jealous. "I know, he's great, you don't have to convince me." she said, sounding a bit more snappish than she really meant to. She winced. If Jake could have heard the way she said that...

Marissa must have noticed her irritable tone, because she frowned. "You and he aren't..."

"What?!" Marley said defensively, maybe just a smidge too loud. "No. There's nothing between me and Ryder but friendship."

"Are you sure?"

Marley forced herself to relax, dropping her shoulders and mustering a smile. "Totally."

Marissa's eyes met hers seriously. "Because I was thinking of asking him out."

"Oh." Marley said with a little nod. Obviously this was what Marissa had been building up to; she didn't know why she felt so surprised. "Cool. But, I mean, it might take him some time, you know? Because of the whole Katie thing. I don't think he's over it yet."

Marissa shrugged cutely. "All the more reason to ask him out; give him something else to think about."

Marley couldn't argue with that... despite the vague feeling of wanting to. "Cool. So... cool."

"And when I saw you in here, I got to thinking..." Marissa twisted her fingers together. "You're friends with him; you said it yourself. Maybe you could just, give me some tips? You know, tell me what kind of stuff he likes?"

"Well..." There was absolutely no good reason why Marley shouldn't help her out, and they both knew it, and they both knew they both knew it. Besides, if she refused, it would only make Marissa think that Marley had some sort of romantic attachment to Ryder, which was not true. "I mean, he likes your normal guy stuff, you know? Football, superheroes, action movies. ___Die Hard._And he loves music, obviously."

"Old stuff, right?" Marissa guessed. "That song he sang me in the choir room was so pretty, but it was definitely something my parents would listen to."

Marley bristled just a little bit. Who didn't love Elton John? And to get serenaded with "Your Song"... it was almost as romantic as dueting on "You're All I Need to Get By." Ignoring the slight blush she could feel rising to her cheeks, she said, "Well, yeah, he likes the classics. A lot of classic rock—Foreigner, REM, Aerosmith. And Motown, just like me. But he likes recent stuff too. Pop, alt rock. He's not like a music snob or anything."

Marissa laughed. "Thank god, because I'm kind of a Top 40 girl, myself. So what else?"

Marley thought about it. Why did it feel so hard to give up these simple bits of information? It wasn't like she was saying anything incredibly personal. "Hm... he really likes salty foods. He likes being outside... I don't know. What do you want to know?"

"If you were going to ask him out, where do you think you'd take him?" Marissa pressed.

Marley sighed. It was completely uncool that she'd even thought of what it would be like to go on a date with Ryder at all. It was downright unacceptable that she knew exactly where she'd take him, that she'd thought of him the moment she'd seen the signs in the park and imagined how much he'd enjoy being there with her. Which was why she had to give it up. "All right... you know the bandstand down in Oak Park? They do this weekly concert series there, every Friday night during the spring. You could bring a blanket—or, you know, chairs. I always thought... I mean, that might be kind of romantic."

Marissa nodded excitedly. "That sounds perfect, he's totally the kind of guy who's into romantic stuff like that! So do you think he'll say yes?"

Honestly, Marley had a hard time picturing Ryder saying no to anyone—not because he was desperate or anything, just because he was too nice to hurt anyone's feelings by rejecting them. Especially someone as sweet and pretty as Marissa. "I think he probably will."

Marissa smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: You guys are seriously amazing, this is the most reviews I've gotten for any of my story chapters so far. Thanks to everyone reading, and special thanks to Angelina Johnson, StarkidGleek12, Lumos-Hermione-Nox, astrita15, Guest, all, lola, and CrestofGlee. Please keep it up! You guys are awesome and enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

Marley didn't hear anything else on the subject of Ryder and Marissa until Monday morning, when Jake told her that Ryder had mentioned having a date on Friday night. ("A picnic," he said with a bit of a smirk that indicated he thought the whole thing was a little bit girly.) Marley wasn't sure whether he was genuinely pleased for Ryder, or whether he was just relieved that Ryder seemed to be moving on from Marley, but the idea of Ryder and Marissa together seemed to make Jake pretty happy.

And it shouldn't have, because Marley was _jealous_. And not just little harmless pangs of jealousy. By the time Wednesday rolled around there was no longer any way to deny it. She was dealing with full-on, gut-twisting, can't-eat, can't-sleep, green-eyed-monster jealousy.

She didn't want to be; _hated_ feeling this way, but she couldn't help it. She'd spent all weekend thinking about Ryder going to the concert with Marissa, imagining them all cuddled up together on a blanket in the park. She'd agonized over the conversation she'd had with Marissa: what would have happened if she hadn't given Marissa the idea for the date? What if she'd told her to take Ryder somewhere he'd hate? What if, when Marissa had asked, she'd confessed that, yes, she _did_ have feelings for Ryder?

Because it seemed pretty obvious at this point that she did.

And the worst part, besides worrying that not only had she chosen the wrong guy, but she'd also set up the _right_ guy with the wrong girl, was that it wasn't like she'd stopped caring about Jake. Jake was one of her best friends too, and he was sweet and affectionate, and most importantly, he was her boyfriend. And yet, weeks ago, when Marley had slipped out of the leather jacket that Jake had carefully draped around her shoulders, only to have Kitty snatch it up, pull it on, and announce her claim to Jake?

The jealousy she'd felt then barely registered in comparison to what she felt now, watching from across the cafeteria as Ryder put his lunch tray down next to Marissa's for the third day in a row. Unlike Marley and most of the rest of the glee club, Ryder was popular enough to sit pretty much wherever he wanted to at lunch, and that usually meant with her, (and Jake and Unique, and whatever combination of glee clubbers were best friends this week.) But today, like yesterday and Monday, it apparently meant with Marissa.

Marissa looked over and, seeing her watching them, gave Marley a friendly smile... and then a conspiratorial wink. Reflexively, Marley smiled back, although it felt like more of a grimace as the jealousy flared up again.

Suddenly the cafeteria food—which, in deference to her mother, she usually defended as being pretty decent—was even more unappetizing than usual, but she finished the last of her meal (Jake and Unique would worry if she didn't) and stood from the table, making some excuse about last-minute cramming for a math test. She needed to clear her head; focus on something else.

She needed to forget about Ryder and Marissa.

* * *

Marley paused as she heard the auditorium door open. So much for using the last half of her lunch period to practice her original songs. She turned around on the piano bench and was surprised to see Ryder striding down the aisle toward her. Honestly, she'd been sort of afraid it would be Marissa again, but now she wasn't sure if this was better or worse. "Hey."

"Hey." he said, jogging up the steps of the stage and slinging his backpack down at the foot of the piano. "What are you up to?"

Marley looked down at her hands. She didn't need to be tense or nervous around Ryder; they were friends, and that was all, and that was okay. "Well, remember, during the shooting, when I confessed that I've been—"

Ryder's eyes widened. "Is this one of your original songs?"

"Yep..." Marley said, smiling at the awed expression on his face. He always made her feel like everything she did was amazing... Given her recent discovery of maybe/probably/definitely having some kind of feelings for him, it was surprising how easy it was to be around him. "We don't have a piano at home, so, sometimes I come here and kind of play them, you know? To make sure they sound like I think they sound?"

"Can I see it?" Ryder asked softly.

Marley hesitated for just a second. She'd never let anyone else see one of her original songs before. Not even her mom, not even Jake. "Well... sure." she said, handing him the sheet music before warning him, "But I'm sure it's not very good."

He gave her a disapproving look for putting herself down, but didn't say anything, instead studying the sheet music closely. He couldn't read very fast, but it was obvious that he was really concentrating rather than just giving it a cursory glance, and Marley's cheeks pinkened despite herself. "'You Have More Friends Than You Know.'" he said finally, leaning his elbows against the piano and looking at her. "These lyrics are really beautiful, Mar. You could be like a poet or something."

Marley rolled her eyes. "No I couldn't."

"Can you play a little?" Ryder requested, ignoring her negativity. "It'll be easier if I can hear the tune."

Marley obliged, picking out the first few lines of the main melody on the piano keys from memory. Ryder's eyes followed the sheet music, and she could hear him matching the notes and the words together under his breath. It felt really surreal to hear someone else singing one of her songs.

When she stopped, Ryder straightened up and handed her back the sheet music. "It's really good, Marley."

Embarrassed, she tucked her hair behind her ear. "You really think so?" At his nod, she continued, "Because I was thinking of asking Mr. Schue if we could maybe... perform one of my songs. At Regionals."

"I think," Ryder said, "That would be really cool. When you ask him, I'll back you up all the way."

Marley folded her arms skeptically. "I dunno though... You really think I could write something good enough for Regionals? I mean, I don't want to screw it up the way I screwed up Sectionals."

Frowning, Ryder sat down on the bench beside her, his legs facing out away from the piano instead of in next to hers. She scooted over to make room for him. "I think you can definitely write something good enough for Regionals. And then we'll have something no other glee club in the world will have. Plus, the theme is dreams, right? And this is yours."

A smile played on Marley's face. "True..."

"And you didn't screw up Sectionals." Ryder told her seriously. "That wasn't your fault."

"You're wrong." Marley said, not really wanting to talk about her eating disorder. "But thanks for saying it."

Ryder just shook his head.

"So now we've established what I'm doing in here... what are you doing here?" Marley asked, changing the subject.

"Looking for you." he answered. "Saw you sneaking out of lunch early, thought we might have time for a chat."

Marley smiled softly. "I'm surprised you noticed I was gone... Haven't I seen you eating lunch with a certain blonde, non-Internet girl every day this week?"

"I don't know, have you?" he teased back.

She could do this; she could talk about Marissa with him, could support their relationship as his friend. "So? How are things going with her?" she prodded, giving his shoulder a little nudge.

"She's nice." Ryder said. "Not really anything like Katie, though. Katie was a lot more like, well, like you. Although thinking about it after the fact, Katie was a lot more forward than you."

"But you're not talking to Katie anymore, right?" Marley asked.

"Right." There was a visible tic in Ryder's jaw, and she knew that he was still frustrated that he never figured out who had been playing him. "She—whoever it is—hasn't contacted me either."

"But you've got Marissa now." Marley pointed out tentatively.

"Yeah." he nodded, and then turned to pin her with his gaze. "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about."

Marley cringed internally. He wasn't going to ask her for advice on how to romance Marissa, was he? Because that would just be too much.

"Thanks for telling her my favorite movie was _Die Hard_." he said.

Marley froze. He'd obviously figured out that she'd helped Marissa prepare for their date... would that upset him? But his eyes were sparkling with good humor and amusement and... something else. "Well..." she said finally. "I wouldn't be a very good wingman if I ruined your guy cred by telling her your real favorite movie is _The Notebook._"

"True." He huffed a short laugh, looking away from her. "...Is that what you are? My wingman?"

Maybe that had been a poor word choice, but she had been joking... mostly. "Sort of... You're one of my best friends, Ry. I want you to be happy."

He hunched over, resting his elbows on his knees. "...Which is why you told her all about my favorite music, and movies, and helped her plan the perfect first date. Of course."

He didn't sound angry, just... defeated. Marley swallowed hard, placing a soft hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you... Come on, Ryder... you know something about planning other people's dates to make them happy, remember?" Maybe bringing up the Valentine's Day debacle with Jake wasn't the best move at this point, but it suddenly seemed like the natural comparison.

"I remember." Ryder said quietly. "But you didn't do it for the same reason I did. I thought, for a while, maybe..."

There was a lump in Marley's throat she couldn't seem to talk around. She had helped Marissa in the same way that Ryder had helped Jake, and Ryder had realized that and thought it meant... well. How had she managed to break his heart yet _again_? "I... I'm sorry..."

"No." He took a deep breath and straightened up, but he still didn't look at her. "It's my problem, it's not you. It was nice that you tried to help me with Marissa. And... it's cool that you knew all that stuff about me. You're a good friend."

The 'friend' comment stung, and it shouldn't have, and Marley suddenly felt even more miserable. This couldn't be happening. "I..."

Ryder faced her again, and his tone and expression were completely back to normal, his usual friendly self. "The concert in the park was good. I don't think Marissa knows that much about music, but... we had fun. Although, I mean, you and I could have gone as friends, Marley. You would have liked it. Maybe we could have invited the rest of the glee—"

She cut off his sentence abruptly by pressing her lips to his. For one long, agonizing moment she was afraid that he wasn't going to kiss her back, that she had made a stupid, stupid mistake, that—

And then his lips moved against hers, and all rational thought stopped. Her eyes fell shut, her hands ran over his shoulders and up into his hair. One of his hands hovered at her waist, barely touching her, his fingertips sending little shocks through her every time they brushed against her. His other hand came up to cradle the side of her face.

When the kiss broke, they were both breathing heavily, foreheads leaning together. "Ryder..." Marley mumbled.

He kept his eyes closed. "She had this blanket, and a picnic basket, and the music was amazing and the stars were coming out and all I could think about was how perfect it would be to be there with _you_." he confessed.

"I knew it would be perfect." she whispered back. "I thought about being there with you too."

His eyes opened, meeting hers, surprised. "You did?"

She nodded, and when she blinked, the tears came spilling out.

He wiped them away with his thumb. "I'm sorry. Don't cry. Please don't cry."

She pulled away, shoulders slumped. "I'm a terrible person. I'm a terrible girlfriend."

"No, you're not." Ryder comforted, pulling his hands back as well. "This was my fault. I cornered you, and I shouldn't have. Jake's my friend—"

"No." With a sob, Marley buried her face in her hands. "I think I might be falling in love with you."

When she next looked up, Ryder was gone.

* * *

Marley's next couple of classes were dreadful—keeping her mind on Spanish or geometry was impossible after what she'd just done. Kissing Ryder, confessing that she had feelings for him even while she was Jake's girlfriend... but the worst part was how good it had felt to do those things, how _right_.

She felt like she was in physical pain. Her head pounded, her chest was tight. Her heart ached. Was it possible to die of guilt?

And after this last class, she would have to go to glee practice, where she'd have to face her boyfriend who loved her and didn't know she'd betrayed him, and Ryder, who'd left her alone in the auditorium and for whom she was beginning to be more and more sure that she had serious l-word type feelings.

She'd seriously considered pretending to be sick and going straight home, heck, she'd seriously considered _actually_ being sick. But Ryder would know, and he'd be worried about her, and he'd blame himself, and it would only make things that much worse.

She closed her locker and found herself face-to-face with someone she _hadn't_ been worrying about... and now realized she probably should have been. Marissa and Ryder... they were kind of dating now, weren't they? Great, one more reason to feel like crap.

"Hey Marley." Marissa held up a familiar-looking cell phone. "The glee club has after-school practice today, right? Do you think you could give this back to Ryder for me?"

Numbly, Marley accepted the phone. "Uh, hey. Sure. What... were you doing with Ryder's phone?"

Marissa's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I wanted to do something nice for Ryder that I actually thought of myself. I know this catfishing thing's been bugging him," she confided. "So I did a little digging, and... I found out who's doing it!"

"What?!" Marley was floored. "How? _Who?_"

"Yeah!" Marissa nodded. "I stole Ryder's phone at lunch and got Katie's phone number. My older brother works for the police department, so I explained the situation and got him to trace it. And you'll never believe it... it's not even a girl. Ryder's gonna flip."

"_Who?_" Marley demanded again.

Marissa shrugged. "Some guy named Jake. Jake Puckerman. I think Ryder's actually friends with him, too. Some friend, right?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I was a little worried you guys would be upset that I made Jake the catfish, but I guess I didn't need to lol. I like Jake, and I doubt the show is going to go this route, but I kind of hope it is him. I honestly have no theories as to who it might be that would actually make sense.

Then again, this is _Glee _so it's not like sense is a requirement.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story, but especially Angelina Johnson, StarkidGleek12, guest03, Loveislovee, Lumos-Hermione-Nox, astrita15, and ChuckNutz. You guys deserve a new chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Marley's jaw dropped. Ryder's mysterious online girl was _Jake_? "What? No!" she denied. "That's not... That can't be true. Jake wouldn't—Ryder would know—I mean... Ryder knows Jake's phone number! It couldn't be him."

"Maybe he has two phones." Marissa suggested. "Or like a Google phone number, or something. But it definitely traces back to him. Anyway, I gotta get to class. Thanks for returning the phone."

Marley could only nod mutely.

At that moment, Jake passed her in the hall, frowned, and backtracked. "The bell's about to ring, Marls. Let's go."

Marley just looked up at him blankly. Was it possible that Marissa had been right? Had Jake really been the one screwing with Ryder?

"Marley... what's wrong? Are you okay?" Jake looked concerned, placed a gentle hand on her back.

Marley stepped back, away from him, pressing her back into her locker. She hated the hurt expression on Jake's face when she pulled away from his touch, but she had to find out, had to know. She didn't want to believe that Jake could have done this, but if he had, she needed to know why.

"Come with me." was all she said.

He seemed bemused when she slammed her locker and began towing him in the opposite direction of their next-period English class, but he didn't protest. He _really_ wasn't protesting when she pulled him into the empty, darkened choir room without even bothering to turn the lights on.

When she turned around to face him, he slipped his hands around her waist. "Hey..." he said with a smile that probably would have melted her like butter... last week.

She removed his hands from her waist and stepped back, again ignoring his look of hurt. "Jake. I'm going to ask you something and you've got to swear to tell me the truth." she said seriously.

"Of course." he said. "I swear. Marley, what—?"

"Are you Katie?" she cut him off before she could lose her nerve. When Jake didn't say anything, she repeated the question. "Are you Ryder's catfish?" The bell rang for the start of seventh period, and they both looked up, but neither one moved. "Please say you're not. Please say that the whole idea is crazy, you wouldn't do that, Marissa is wrong about you."

Jake sighed, looking away from her. "Look, I'm sorry, Marley. It was a stupid idea, I get it, and you have no idea how much I regret the whole thing."

"Oh my god." Marley's hand clapped over her mouth. Even knowing the accusations leveled against him, hearing him admit to it still felt like an unexpected punch in the gut. "Jake... I can't... _why?_"

"Why do you think?" Jake said. "After you told me he kissed you... I don't know. I just lost it a little bit. I thought, maybe if he met some other girl, he would just back off with you... It made sense at the time."

"'It made sense at the time'?" Marley repeated disbelievingly. "Jake, how could you do that?! You made him think he was falling for some girl and it was all you!"

"Yeah, well, I knew exactly what to say to get him to fall for her, didn't I?" Jake said bitterly. "All I had to do was talk like _you_."

Marley swallowed the lump in her throat. "That's not a good excuse, Jake! What about the pictures? Do you know how freaked out he's been, not knowing who's been looking at those?"

"It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before." Jake protested. "Heck, it's not like it's anything _you've _never seen before, that stupid calendar picture. It just seemed like the right thing to say to convince him she was interested in him."

"Jake!" Marley was trying, and not quite succeeding, to keep her cool. "You can't just do that to people to teach them a lesson for liking your girlfriend! Especially friends!"

"He betrayed me!" Jake retorted. "That's not what friends do either. He knows how I feel about you."

Ryder wasn't the only one who had betrayed Jake, and Marley had to push the guilty thoughts of this afternoon's kiss aside. "He apologized." she said. "He didn't kiss me out of spite. He didn't do it to hurt you or humiliate you or violate you."

"Maybe not intentionally, but he still did." Jake said. "You think I didn't feel hurt and humiliated and violated that my best friend was kissing my girlfriend behind my back? And it wasn't just the one stupid kiss, it was that he had all these feelings for you and he had no right to. He had no right to pretend like he was okay with the whole Valentine's Day thing when he wasn't."

"He has the right to have feelings." Marley said quietly. "They're _his feelings_. Even if they're inconvenient for you and me."

"_Inconvenient._" repeated a new voice, and Marley and Jake whirled towards the doorway to see Ryder standing there, arms folded across his chest. "That's a nice way of putting it." His voice was dangerously calm.

Marley immediately wanted to take the word back. "Ryder, that's not what I meant—"

"It's fine, Marley." Ryder said coolly. He looked at Jake. "Katie. You were a lot prettier in your picture."

Jake sighed. "Look, man, I'm sorry. I never meant for it to go that far."

"Dammit!" Ryder burst out. He ran a hand through his hair. "When I ran into Marissa in the hall and she told me it was you I didn't believe her. I said it had to be a mistake, you wouldn't do that."

"It was a dumb thing to do, and I shouldn't have done it, and I wish I hadn't." Jake owned.

"I know I crossed the line with Marley. I would have expected you to punch me in the face or something. I would have deserved it." Ryder said furiously. "But I never thought you would do something sneaky like this."

"When Marley told me you kissed her I was pissed." Jake said. "And then I asked her to freeze you out and she said she wouldn't. I probably would have punched you, but I knew she'd hate it if I flew off the handle. And then... I don't know. I was on Facebook and Finn posted all these pictures of you two dancing together during glee club, and the idea just popped into my head. I realized that week how stupid it was, but..."

"...But what?" Marley asked hesitantly.

Jake shook his head. "But by then, it was working. You apologized to me and to Marley, you stopped being such a dick to Unique... You said you thought you were moving on from Marley."

Marley bit her lip. That was another one of those things that shouldn't hurt to hear, but did.

"Yeah, and on to Katie." Ryder snarled. Marley wondered if she was going to have to run and find a teacher to break up the impending fight, but he held himself back. "How long were you gonna keep it up? You thought I'm _that _stupid? That I'd never start asking questions?"

"Look, I didn't exactly have an exit strategy." Jake admitted. "I knew you wouldn't accept it if Katie just disappeared, especially once you realized the girl whose picture I used went to McKinley. I tried to get you to let it go but you pulled your whole big serenade thing before I could figure out what to do."

"I gave you an ultimatum to meet me or stop texting me!" Ryder hissed. "Why didn't you just take it?"

"I panicked." Jake answered. "But I figured it wouldn't matter. Katie wouldn't show up to the meeting, we'd all say 'sorry man, forget her, what a bitch,' and you'd drop the whole thing."

Marley flinched as Ryder kicked over a stool in anger, but he didn't come any closer.

"Really." Jake said. "I am sorry. To both of you. I feel like a real tool."

"You expect me to believe that?" Ryder asked coldly. "You've done nothing but lie to me for weeks." He suddenly had a thought that made his eyes widen. "It _was_ all lies, right? I mean, you're not..."

Jake looked repulsed. "Dude, of course it was lies. I'm not gay."

"Yes, you made that very clear by creating a fake female persona online to seduce your guy friends." Ryder said sarcastically. "Can't really blame me for being confused."

"I wasn't seducing you," Jake gritted through his teeth. "I was trying to get you to stay the hell away from my girlfriend."

"You think I wasn't _trying _to stay away from her?" Ryder spat. "I was. I still am. But you know, I think it's getting easier." With a last look at Marley that was so cold it made her shiver, he stormed out of the room.

Marley's vision was blurry with tears. "What just happened?"

Jake ran a hand over his hair. "Hell if I know. I am sorry I lied, Marley. To you and to him. You have to believe me."

"I do." Marley said softly. "And I'm sorry too, but—"

"Please don't." Jake cut her off. "Please don't break up with me. I know you said things weren't going to work out between us if you couldn't trust me, but it was a mistake."

"That's not what I was going to apologize for." Marley said, still fighting tears. "And, yes, it's hard for me to trust you now, but... maybe you shouldn't trust me either."

"I don't understand..."

"Ryder and I kissed again today." Marley confessed. "And this time, I'm the one who started it."

Jake grew still. "...What am I supposed to say to that, Marley?"

Marley wiped away a tear with her shirt sleeve. "I don't know. Punch me in the face?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on."

"I don't know... I know I shouldn't have done it, Jake, but—"

"But you're picking him." Jake finished. "I can't believe this."

"I knew I had to tell you that I still have feelings for Ryder. Even before I learned you were the catfisher." Marley said slowly. "...But finding out doesn't exactly make this harder."

"So..." Jake's jaw was clenched so tight she thought it might shatter. "We're done?"

It was amazing how two little words could be so heartwrenching. "Yeah." she answered softly, pushing open the choir room door. "I think we're done."

She left without looking back, not sure she wanted to see the look on Jake's face. And yet it wasn't Jake's parting words, but Ryder's, that replayed in her head as she walked through the halls, blinking back tears. What had he meant when he said it was getting easier to stay away from her? Had Jake been right when he said Ryder was getting over her? Was he falling in love with Marissa?

Was that why he'd left after she'd kissed him in the auditorium? He'd said that he'd dreamed of being at the concert with her instead of Marissa, but...

She'd never seen Ryder look at her so coldly before.

Almost without thinking about it, she found herself in the hall where his locker was. He was there, stuffing books and papers into his backpack, clearly preparing to blow off his last classes and just leave. When he saw her approaching he started packing faster.

"What did you mean?" Marley asked quietly. "About wanting to stay away from me?"

"What I said." he answered tightly, barely sparing her a glance. "Just leave me alone, Marley. You're about the last person in the world I want to talk to right now, except maybe your asshole boyfriend."

"He's not—" Marley began. _My boyfriend anymore,_ she was going to say, but Ryder cut her off.

"Don't defend him. Don't you dare defend him." he said harshly. Looking closer, she could see the unshed tears in his eyes. He was barely holding it together.

She couldn't blame him for feeling angry and hurt about what Jake had done, and all she wanted to do was comfort him, but he was pushing her away. "But I'm not—"

"Stop. Just stop." Ryder bit out. "I trusted you, and you lied to me. You lied to me, and humiliated me, and you made me think that you felt—God. What _was _that today, in the auditorium? Why would you tell me that? Wasn't the Katie thing enough?" He slammed his locker and stalked away without waiting for an answer, leaving her alone and distraught for the second time since lunch.

It took a few seconds after he walked away for it to slowly dawn on her. Ryder thought that she had known the whole time that Jake was the one who was catfishing him... maybe even thought she'd helped.

Worse, he thought the kiss in the auditorium—and her confession of her feelings for him—had all been a lie too.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks again to all of my readers, and especially to my reviewers Angelina Johnson, Tincho P, ChuckNutz, Loveislovee, and Guest. I can't say how much I appreciate your feedback, and please, keep it up!

This is the last chapter for now... I may decide to come back and do an epilogue to it, because I feel there should really be more closure with everyone, but it's not written yet and I'm not quite sure where it will go. So enjoy the end! (For now.)

(Also, I don't know if all of you were as appalled by "Lights Out" as I was, but I'm pretty sure Ryder's attitude change from 'One of my friends is Katie and has betrayed me' to 'Who's Katie: it's a fun mystery!' is weird and needs to be explored, so maybe I'll get on that next...)

* * *

"Wait! Ryder! Can't you just let me explain?" Marley pleaded, watching him go. She'd hurt him again, entirely without meaning to, but if he would only listen... well, she couldn't make everything all right, not after what Jake had done, but maybe she could make him understand that he wasn't alone... that, if he wanted, he had _her._

He didn't even pause in his step.

In that instant, Marley decided that this was _important._ It was a risk to be being noisy in the halls during classes, but what she had to say to him couldn't wait. She would _make_ him listen.

She ran to catch up to him. "Ryder, please!" She needed him to understand that she'd had nothing to do with the way Jake had tricked him. More importantly, she needed him to know that what she'd said to him earlier, in the auditorium, was true.

But his legs were longer and he outpaced her easily. She followed him around a corner and came up short as he disappeared into the boys' locker room. _Great. _

She checked her watch nervously. It was the middle of seventh period; all the guys would be changed and in the gym by now. The locker room was probably completely empty. She pushed the door open and strode in, wrinkling her nose as she was immediately assailed by an unpleasant aroma that was a mixture of sweaty boy, damp towel, and feet.

Which was immediately forgotten upon the sight of the twenty or twenty-five guys—in various levels of cleanliness and states of undress—who were all currently staring at her.

A couple of the shyer boys ducked behind lockers or out of her view... but plenty of them did not seem shy _at all_. Marley's face turned red and her eyes fixed on the ceiling as she slowly backed towards the door. "Oops. I am _so_ sorry." she squeaked.

"Hey, baby, don't be sorry!" One guy catcalled, and a few others laughed. Flustered, Marley backed into the tiled wall as she reached around blindly and unsuccessfully for the doorknob behind her back.

Thankfully, Ryder took pity on her, appearing at her side and looping an arm around her. "Shut up, Jason." he said to the catcaller, which did nothing to put a damper on the laughter and wolf whistles that followed as he led her out of the locker room.

Back in the hallway, Marley pressed her hand to her flaming face. "Well!"

Ryder was trying not to laugh. "Sorry about that... I really didn't think you'd come in after me."

"I really wanted to talk to you." Marley said seriously, but the barest hint of a smile slipped into her expression. It was pretty funny, after all.

Realizing that his arm was still around her shoulders, Ryder quickly removed it, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Okay." he said after a moment. "You have my attention." He looked better now than he had a few minutes ago; if she hadn't seen him, she'd never know he'd been crying... She, on the other hand, probably looked like a mess.

Suddenly Marley's thoughts seemed to scatter and she ended up tongue-tied. "I... I don't really understand what just happened in the choir room."

Any residual humor on his face from the locker room incident disappeared. "I can't talk about this right now. Not with you. I just feel like such an _idiot_." he snorted derisively. "You'd think I'd be used to that feeling."

"You're not an idiot." Marley assured him earnestly. "You're not."

Ryder sighed, some of the anger beginning to seep out of his tone. "Come on, Marley. I don't want to... I'm just... I'm really confused, all right? You help Marissa get a date with me, and then you kiss me in the auditorium, and then you tell me you might love me, and then I find out your boyfriend is the one who's been catfishing me, and then when I go to confront him I find you with him in a dark classroom, talking about how my feelings for you are inconvenient. It's a lot of mixed messages."

"I never meant to say your feelings were inconvenient." Marley said, addressing the easy part first. "I just wanted to tell Jake that you can't go manipulating other people's feelings to suit yourself. That's all I meant, I swear it."

"You also swore to me that you and Jake had nothing to do with Katie." Ryder pointed out.

"I didn't know, Ry. I didn't find out it was Jake until about two minutes before you did, and I barely believed it." Marley promised. She fished Ryder's phone out of her pocket and held it out to him. "Marissa told me after geometry let out. She gave me this to give back to you."

Ryder took it. "...You didn't know?"

She could see it in his eyes that this answer meant _everything_. Summoning her courage, she reached over and touched his arm. "I didn't know. Jake didn't tell me. I would never have done that to you, and I would never have thought it was okay. Please believe me."

Ryder studied her for a long moment while she held her breath.

"I believe you... that you didn't know that Jake was Katie." he finally said, nodding. "I'm sorry I doubted you. Finding out about Jake just messed up my head, you know? And when I heard the two of you talking about it in secret, it just felt like... how else might you be messing with me? What else might you be lying about?"

"Nothing!" Marley said fervently. "I'm sorry about all the mixed messages, I am, but I was so confused myself. I knew I shouldn't be having feelings for you while I was still with Jake, so when Marissa asked me to help her I felt like I had to do it, like it wouldn't be fair to not help her because it would be like trying to keep you to myself when I had no right to because of Jake, and she seemed really nice and pretty and it wouldn't be fair for you to miss out on her just because I was a little bit jealous."

When she finally stopped for a breath, Ryder had narrowed his eyes in concentration. "Okay... I actually followed most of that."

"But I messed it all up, I hurt your feelings by making you think I was helping her because I was secretly in love with you and then telling you we were just friends, and then I realized that it wasn't fair to make you think that, because we _aren't_ just friends, and then I kissed you and I didn't know what to do."

"Marley," Ryder put his hands on her shoulders. "It sounded like you just said that we aren't just friends. You can't just—"

"I broke up with Jake." Marley interrupted nervously. "I can't be with someone I can't trust, and I shouldn't be with someone who can't trust me, especially if the reason he can't trust me is because I have all these feelings for other guys that make me go around kissing them and being super jealous when they go out on dates with other girls—"

"Marley." Ryder said again, and she trailed off as he took her face between his hands.

"...Uh huh?" she whispered, looking up at him. There was just time for her stomach to start fluttering with anticipation before he met her lips with his own. Her nerves evaporated and were replaced by lightheadedness... a pleasant kind though, not like she was about to pass out or anything.

Ryder pulled back and raised one rakish eyebrow. "So, when you said 'other guys'...?"

"One. One guy." Marley corrected herself breathlessly, and Ryder smiled.

His long fingers pushed her hair off of her face, tucking it tenderly behind her ear. "You really broke up with Jake?" he asked softly.

She nodded. "I... I told you I wasn't lying to you, Ryder. And that includes what I said in the auditorium. I would be the worst person in the world if I stayed with Jake while I was falling for you. Finding out he was your catfisher only made it easier. Even if Marissa hadn't told me—Oh my god, Marissa." Marissa was dating Ryder, and Marley had totally just kissed him. Twice. Today.

Not to mention the whole confession-of-love thing.

"Marley." Ryder said with a smile. "It's okay. Marissa and I went on two dates, which was just long enough for me to figure out that she was getting all her best conversational material from you."

"But..."

"I'm just going to be honest with her." he said. "I'll tell her that I'm sorry and I enjoyed spending time with her, but that it wouldn't be fair to her to keep going out when I'm totally and completely head over heels for my best friend."

His thumb stroked over her cheek as Marley flushed with pleasure. "You are some kind of perfect, you know?"

He winked at her. "The feeling's mutual."

Seventh period was ending, and the students without block classes began flooding into the hallways, headed for lockers and last-period classes. "So, you want to go to eighth period?" Ryder asked over the din.

She'd already missed the first half of her 7-8 English class; there was really no point in trying to come up with an excuse for being so horrifically late. Besides, how could she concentrate on classic literature now, when she felt like she was bubbling over with excitement and happiness? "Not even a little." she said. At his look of surprise, she said, "Just this once. Let's skip it and go somewhere and talk." _And maybe kiss_, she thought. _Because __**wow**__._

"I'm in." he said easily, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together. "Where do you want to go? You know, the boys' locker room is probably empty..."

Marley swatted him gently in the stomach, laughing. "Shut up."


End file.
